Shloka 75
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
समुद्र और आकाशके समान अपार, अनन्त रूप धारण करनेवाले महामूर्तिधारी महेश्वर! जैसे गोशालामें गौएँ निवास करती हैं, उसी प्रकार आपकी भूमि, जल, वायु, अग्नि, आकाश, सूर्य, चन्द्रमा एवं यजमानरूप आठ प्रकारकी मूर्तियोंमें सम्पूर्ण देवताओंका निवास है ।। भवच्छरीरे पश्यामि सोममन्निं जलेश्वरम् । आदित्यमथ वै विष्णु ब्रह्माणं च बृहस्पतिम्,मैं आपके शरीरमें सोम, अग्नि, वरुण, सूर्य, विष्णु, ब्रह्मा तथा बृहस्पतिको भी देख रहा हूँ
bhīṣma uvāca |
samudra-ākāśa-samānāpāra-ananta-rūpa-dhāriṇe mahāmūrti-dhāriṇe maheśvara |
yathā gośālāyāṃ gāvo nivāsanti tathā tava bhūmi-jala-vāyu-agni-ākāśa-sūrya-candra-yajamāna-rūpāṣṭa-vidhāsu mūrtiṣu sarva-devatānāṃ nivāsaḥ ||
bhavaccharīre paśyāmi somam agniṃ jaleśvaram |
ādityam atha vai viṣṇuṃ brahmāṇaṃ ca bṛhaspatim ||
Bhishma said: O Maheshvara, vast and boundless like the ocean and the sky, assuming endless forms and bearing a cosmic body! Just as cows dwell in a cowshed, so do all the gods dwell within your eightfold manifestations—earth, water, wind, fire, space, the sun, the moon, and the sacrificer. Indeed, within your very body I behold Soma, Agni, Varuṇa (lord of waters), Āditya (the Sun), Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Bṛhaspati.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a theological vision of unity: the many Vedic and Purāṇic deities are understood as dwelling within the one Supreme Lord (Maheśvara) through his eightfold cosmic manifestations (earth, water, wind, fire, space, sun, moon, and the sacrificer). It frames devotion as recognizing the divine as immanent in the cosmos and in ritual life.
Bhishma, speaking in the Śānti Parva, offers praise and insight into Maheśvara’s cosmic nature. He describes the Lord as infinite like ocean and sky and declares that he perceives major gods—Soma, Agni, Varuṇa, the Sun, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Bṛhaspati—present within Maheśvara’s body, emphasizing Maheśvara’s all-encompassing form.